The Original Rights Of Ownership
by Pukkina
Summary: Sequel to Revenge Isn't Patented...what seems like an ordinary Christmas vacation for Kat Reisert Rippner turns harrowing and deadly as someone her family had thought they were rid of comes back for more.
1. Chapter 1

1Katherine 'Kat' Reisert Rippner found the hidden key under the lawn gnome and unlocked the door of the large, secluded North Carolina coast house. She had sighed with disappointment when she discovered that her mother and father and baby sister Jacqueline weren't home, but blamed herself. After all, Kat knew their hours and had been fooling herself by thinking that they'd be home to greet her, even though it was a surprise visit.

"Mom? Dad?" she called out as she tossed her bag of laundry into the foyer. She knew it was pointless, but she had a strange habit of always calling out the name(s) of the inhabitants before entering. She could never relax until she had done so.

When Kat did it now, she smiled involuntarily at the names. It had been four and a half years since she discovered her real dad, but she had never gotten used to calling Jackson Rippner her father. She didn't think her mother had either. It really was all so surreal.

Kat dropped her duffel bag on the couch and picked up the phone, punching in her dad's cell. It buzzed twice.

"This is Rippner," came the impatient, cold voice of her work dad. She sighed.

"Hello, father dearest, it's your oldest and greatest offspring," Kat chirped. She could almost hear him smile.

"Katie! Hey, sweetie! What are you up to?"

"Talking to you. In your house."

"My house?" he repeated. "You're at the ocean house?"

"Yeah. Is that okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Even though you're a big Yale girl now, its still your home."

She laughed and grabbed her bag with her free hand to take upstairs, then began the climb. "I know. But still. When are you going to be home?"

"I'm not sure. I'm kind of working.." his voice grew distant and Kat's stomach twisted. She hated even thinking about what he did for a living, as did her mother. They were constantly badgering him to quit, but realized that having an assassin Jackson was better than having no Jackson. They each had a deep, serious love for him that neither was willing to sacrifice for morals.

"Well, just don't be too late, please," she requested. "I haven't seen you in a month."

"Oh, I know," he agreed. "But your mother won't be late, and she'll have Jackie. I'll try to finish things up here and get back." She heard voices in the background and heard him shout, "Fuck you, Crandall! I'll be there in a minute!"

Kat shut her mouth tensely and gazed at Jacqueline's crib through the open door. She loved her baby sister and missed her like crazy.

"Sorry, sweetie. I've got to go."

"I can tell." She didn't bother to hide the bite in her voice this time.

"Kat..."

"You know how I feel, _Jack_."

"Watch it, Katherine."

"You watch it."

"Where did this mouth come from?"

"From you, remember, _Father_?" Her disrespect was coming through loud and clear, and she knew she was angering him.

"Whatever, Katie. I have to go. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah, have fun murdering innocent children, Dad." She hung up on him and slammed the phone into the receiver. She stomped into her bedroom and threw her bag onto her red-bedspreaded bed. She hated him sometimes. She really did. She accredited their nasty little distaste for each other in their common traits. They were so alike sometimes that it was scary. She had his temper, his sarcasm, and his pliable love for being a loner. Kat hated that, but it was an unalienable cause of being her father's daughter.

She began settling in for her long winter break and hung up her clothes in the vast, spacious closet. Kat popped a cd into her stereo, The Fiery Furnaces, and hummed as she unpacked. The phone rang suddenly but she heard it only distantly.

She jogged into the hallway and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Nice chat, Katie?"

She froze and frowned. "Who is this?"

"You know who it is." Kat searched her brain. She had a few friends at school, but they were all girls. This was a guy. It wasn't the cool, slightly raspy voice of her father, nor her mother's shy and sweet voice. Jacqueline couldn't talk. The only relation that they kept in contact with was Lisa's father, and it certainly wasn't his voice. She couldn't think of who else it could be. It was a familiar voice and Kat tried to locate its source. Then it hit her. Her dreams. Her nightmares.

"Who. The. Fuck. Are. You." She fought back fearful tears and ran downstairs. Whoever this was either had tabs on her or her dad's phone and/or was watching him/her/both of them.

"Language, Katie. I raised you better."

She hung up quickly, sucking in breath. Luke. It was Luke. Her mother's ex-husband. He'd been in jail for the past four years, he had a life sentence, so why...Kat raced to the door and swung it open. There was nobody out there, but her eye caught a note clipped to the knob. She breathlessly ripped it off and scanned it with her chocolate eyes.

_I'll be seeing you soon, Kat. This never was over. You and your mom...you're mine. And Jack the Ripper will be history._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note---Thank you for the reviews, here's the next one. A bit of a filler, a little bit of action near the end.  Enjoy, and please review.**

Kat sat on the couch, her mind replaying the events of the day over and over in her head. Most importantly, the shocking events of three hours ago.

She'd debated about what to do. She could call the cops and her dad and run screaming down the street, but she felt cautious. After all, if Luke really was watching her, there was a good chance that he'd kill her when she went for help. Kat locked the doors and windows, searched the house three times, and made sure that the alarms were all set. Other than that, there was nothing she could do.

Kat had no idea how the note had made its way inside. Obviously, Luke had obviously brought it in, but that didn't explain why the alarms didn't go off. Jackson had a certain sense of paranoiac insecurity that caused him to install only the best of precautions. They would not be faulty.

Luke had worked with her father, though. He must know _some_ secrets about this sort of thing. Jackson didn't confide in Kat and Lisa much, but she knew enough to know that in his line of work, a rigorous training system was necessary.

Kat heard the doorknob twist and her stomach mimicked it.

"Hello?" she called out cautiously. There was no answer. A footstep. A thud. Another footstep. "Who's there?"

Feeling her breath stop entirely, she grabbed a vase from the shelving and quietly made her way to the foyer, her weapon poised to strike.

With a yell, she began to slam down the vase, but a familiar voice stopped her.

"Kat!" Lisa dropped Jacqueline's baby bag and the eighteen-month girl gurgled happily at her sister from her mother's hip. "What in the world are you _doing?_"

Kat sighed and replaced it on a different shelf, breaking a sweat as her heartrate returned to normal. "You scared me, Mom. Jeez. I thought…" she trailed off, biting her lip. _Nice going. Don't tell her! It'll only make her panic and tell Jack—Dad. Which will be bad. Because he'll go insane. Good job, Kat. You're supposed to be The Smart Yale Girl. _

"You thought what?" Lisa shot her daughter a severe look and walked distractedly past Kat, setting Jacqueline in her bouncer. "Don't go keeping secrets again. You know I hate that."

Kat nodded and looked away, hastily grabbing a cup from the kitchen cupboards to busy herself. She poured a glass of milk and was chugging it down when she saw her mother's expression.

Lisa was staring angrily at her, hand on hip, her hair falling idly in front of her eyes.

"Katherine."

"Lisa." Kat laughed at their private joke, but her mom would have none of it today.

"I think you need to tell me right now what exactly made you jump me at the door."

"Nothing, Mom," Kat lied with an exasperated sigh. Time to revive her teenage tendencies again. "I just was feeling a bit nervous, that's all. Hearing things. You know."

It was obvious that Lisa didn't buy it. "Is that the best you can do? Try again."

Kat sighed and looked at the floor, muttering, "Maybe you should put Jackie in her room. I don't want her to hear this."

Lisa furrowed her brow but nodded and went upstairs with the baby.

Kat poured a glass of milk for mother as well and sat down at the table to wait when the phone rang. She nearly fell out of her chair, but reached for it warily.

_Please be Dad. Or somebody for Mom. Or someone from school. Anybody but who I'm scared it might be._ "Hello?"

"Don't worry, Katie, you can tell your mother. There's not much she can do about it, anyway."

"Leave us alone, you asshole," Kat whispered furiously into the phone, gritting her teeth. "What the hell do you want?"  
"I want to finish what I had started with you two four years ago. I want you, and I want your mother. And you can tell her that. Hell, Kat, I don't care if you tell that bastard _father of yours._ Because there is absolutely _nothing_ that you can do."

"I'll call the police, you won't get away with this, you-"

"Call the police, Katie, and I can assure you that you'll live to regret it. The house is wired."

Her stomach fell but she fought to remain a shred of indignance. "We'll get out of here! Do you really think that we're that stupid-"

"Do what you want, but the moment that door opens, you die. I'll make sure of it."

"How does that work into your psychotic plan to get me and mom back? Kill us and then kill yourself? Makes sense," Kat shot scathingly at him.

"You'll see, my dear little Katherine, all in good time. But for now, I suggest you don't leave the house."  
Kat was shaking in uncontrollable tremors that wracked her entire body. "My dad will stop you. He'll find the wires and disengage-"

"Katherine, your father doesn't know _shit_ compared to me. One tamper with that wire and he'll be blown halfway to kingdom come."

"Kat?" She spun around to see Lisa looking at her from the doorway.

"Who are you talking to?" she mouthed.

"It's-" she was met with an empty line, telling her that Luke had disconnected. Kat did the same and Lisa walked over to her.

"You okay, honey?"

Kat didn't answer, but dropped the phone to the counter. It rattled all the way down the island and landed in the sink. Lisa ignored it and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Now, tell me what's going on. The last time I saw that look, it wasn't even on your face. It was on mine, and I was 25,00 feet in the air in a bathroom."

Kat burst into tears, leaning into her mother's blazer, and her mother held her head, guiding her gently to sit on the couch.

When the sudden thundercloud of emotion had passed, Kat wiped her eyes with the tissue Lisa provided and cleared her throat. "He's back."

"Who?"

Kat shuddered, feeling slightly repulsed. "_Him._ Luke."

Lisa froze, her hands falling limply at her sides. "Luke?" she whispered, her voice now a deadened whine. "What—what did he want?"

"This is really clichéd, Mom, but trust me…you don't want to know."

Lisa stood up and began walking to the counter. "What are you doing?"

"Calling the cops. He needs to leave you the hell alone."

"No!" Kat tore the receiver from her mother's hand and cradled it in her hand. "You can't call them! You can't call _anybody_!"

"Why not?"

"Because, Mom," Kat searched her mother's eyes, the ones that had seemed so lively and happy less than five minutes ago now looked dead with fear. "If we call anybody, we're dead. All of us."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I'm trying to get better about updating, seriously. Anyway, enjoy, and please review!

What seemed like an hour had only been five minutes. In that short span of time, Kat had run upstairs twelve times to check on Jacqueline and Lisa had poured herself a glass of water. When Kat returned from her latest trip, red-faced, she found that her mother had unsuccessfully attempted to drink the water and ended up with half of it down her shirt.

Lucas hadn't called again, but Kat noticed her mother shooting suspicious glances at the phone. Kat found herself tiptoeing around the house, anxious that the whole place could blow at any footfall.

"He'll call again," she said, surprised at how calm she sounded now. "He'll have conditions. He's not going to kill us, as long as he knows he's won."  
"What does he want?" Lisa moaned. "What could he possibly want from us?"

Kat bit her lip and shook her head. "I don't know exactly what he wants, but I know he wants us."

"Why does he want you?" Lisa sighed. "I could understand him still being somewhat attached to me, I mean, we were married, but you're not even his daughter."

"Because he's a--" The sharp ringing of the phone interrupted Kat's sentence and made her jump. She glanced harshly up at her mother, who nodded with wide eyes. Kat lifted it up.

"Hello?"

"Are you still angry with me?"

For a moment, Kat was disoriented. Angry with Lucas? She hated his guts. Then she realized that it wasn't him—it was her father, the one she'd hung up on less than an hour ago. "Oh, it's you."

"Of course it's me," he said, laughing that familiar gravelly laugh. "Who would it be? Your boyfriend?"

"Of course not," Kat mumbled distractedly, peering out the window. Luke could see her now, he could watch her speak to her father. She shuddered and it was a bit more audible than she'd intended.

"Kat? Are you okay?"

Kat swallowed hard as the phone beeped. Shit. Incoming call. "I'm fine, Dad—listen, I have to go, somebody's calling. I'll talk to you later."

"Let me talk to him!" Lisa mouthed. Kat shook her head and mouthed back that there was another call coming in.

"Tell Mom I said hi," Jackson replied cheerfully.

"She says hi back," Kat replied miserably, switching to the other call.

"Leave us alone, you bastard," she hissed immediately. "Are you insane?"

"What?"

Oh, crap. She'd switched to Luke, hadn't she? Or… "Dad?"

"What did you just say to me?"

Kat closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Nothing. Bye."

"Wait," his voice was stern and demanding. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Dad," Kat lied. "Seriously. We're fine."

"Katherine!"

Kat held the phone away from her ear as he yelled, and with every ounce of self-determination that she owned, she ended the call. Lisa stared at her.

"Kat," she breathed. "Why did you do that? He could have helped us!"

"There is _nothing_ he can do," Kat snapped irritably. "All he can do is aggravate Luke enough to kill us. Luke is right—this is beyond our control."

Lisa's eyes hardened and she gripped her daughter's wrist. "Don't say that. He hasn't won yet. Don't _ever_ give in to defeat."

Kat ducked her head, ashamed of her weakness, as her mother began to pace, a fingernail between her teeth. "What can we do?" Lisa muttered aloud. "There must be _something_—some sort of loophole."

The phone rang again and Kat jumped. She'd hung up on Luke before—did she dare not answer it now?

"It's probably Jackson," Lisa said anxiously. "Pick it up! If we tell him—"

Kat snatched up the phone, mostly to drown out her mother's nagging. "Hello," she spat severely.

"You know, Katie, hanging the phone up on me probably wasn't the smartest thing to do," Luke said coldly. "You're lucky that all of your body parts are still attached and not lying in pieces next to your burning house."

"What do you want?" Kat hissed. "Tell me what you want! Just end this game of cat and mouse!"

"The game's just begun, my child," Luke responded. Kat seethed. His _child?_ What was this guy _on?_ "You'll find out soon enough. For now, just sit back and relax."

"At least let Jacqueline out," Kat pleaded. "She's just a _baby._"

Luke sighed irritably. "Which gives you so much more to lose, now, doesn't it?" Kat was silent. "I need to speak to your mother."

"What?"

"Lisa."

"No shit," Kat snapped, feeling her mother bristle next to her. _Come on, Mom, you've heard me swear before._ "She's stressed enough—just leave her alone. This doesn't have to be about her."

"Well, it is, so put her on."

Kat moaned and handed the phone to her mother, who accepted it with a frown. "Hello?"

"My Lisa," Lisa heard Lucas sigh happily. She scowled, boiling with anger. _His_ Lisa. She didn't even let Jackson say that, let alone a creepy man whom she was ashamed to call her ex-husband.

"I'm not _your_ Lisa," she snarled. "Leave us alone! What do you want?"

"I want you back, and I want Kat."

"You can have me, but there is _no way in hell_ that I'm letting you touch my baby girl!" Lisa growled. "She does _not_ belong to you!"

"I think I'll be the one making the orders, Lisa," Luke replied coolly. "But if you behave until it's time, I may be inclined to release her."

"Just tell me," Lisa muttered, trying to calm herself down. "What I have to do."


End file.
